As the Ukraine crisis continues, Hungary and other EU countries have intensified their criticism of the EU's financial and military aid strategy to Ukraine.
BRUSSELS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- EU countries agreed to extend 50 billion euros (54 billion U.S. dollars) in aid to Ukraine at a special summit in Brussels on Thursday, European Council President Charles Michel said on social media, marking a periodic pause in the protracted struggles between Hungary and 26 other EU countries.
However, analysts say the extensive pressure and harsh measures many EU politicians discussed to apply against Hungary, an EU member, to force it to fold, may deepen divisions and intensify rifts within the bloc.
HARD-WON AGREEMENT
Soon after the summit started on Thursday, Michel surprisingly announced an additional 54-billion-dollar support package for Ukraine from within the EU budget agreed upon by "all 27 EU countries."
The additional aid to Ukraine, the most focal point at the summit, is part of the mid-term revision of the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027.
The aid to Ukraine, regarded as one of the EU's priority areas, consists of 17 billion euros (18.36 billion dollars) in grants and 33 billion euros (35.64 billion dollars) in loans.
The European Council underlined in its Thursday conclusions the need to ensure "stable, predictable and sustainable financial support for Ukraine for the period 2024-2027" to contribute to the recovery, reconstruction of the country and its progressive integration into the EU.
"Continued EU financial support for Ukraine will strengthen long-term economic and financial stability, which is no less important than military assistance and sanctions pressure on Russia," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
For weeks, EU officials have been trying to reach a compromise with Hungary to get an agreement on the four-year package for Ukraine which EU leaders failed to reach at a summit in mid-December. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hadn't signalled its intention to drop his veto up until the special summit.
As one of Ukraine's major donors, the United States is currently stuck with the promised 61.4-billion-dollar funding in the Congress. Some EU officials said that without fresh budget support, Kiev would run out of cash in March.
MORE COMPROMISE
Ahead of the summit, Hungary proposed splitting the package into four annual envelopes, each worth 12.5 billion euros (13.5 billion dollars), euronews reported.
This means that the use of the funds requires unanimous approval from EU member states every year.
The proposal was opposed by other EU leaders, who believed that doing so would run counter to the plan to provide long-term and predictable aid to Ukraine.
"Hungary welcomes the fact that the European Commission is making good progress in the elaboration of Plan B, which includes the financing of Ukraine from outside the EU budget. What they consider as Plan B has always been Plan A for Hungary," said Orban on social media in January. But Orban still kept refusing to accept the EU's previous plan.
To obtain Hungary's approval, three compromising terms were added to the plan, including an annual report by the European Commission on the implementation of the aid package, a debate at the leaders' level on the implementation of the package and, if needed, in two years the European Council will ask the Commission to propose a review of the new budget, said the European Council conclusions.
After the summit, Orban said Hungary had been worried that EU money intended for Hungary would go to Ukraine. "We finally negotiated a control mechanism to guarantee that the money would be used sensibly, and we received a guarantee that Hungary's money would not end up in Ukraine," he said.
"We will not take part in the war, we will not send weapons, we remain on the side of peace!" Orban posted on social media afterwards.
INCREASING RIFTS
As the Ukraine crisis continues, Hungary and other EU countries have intensified their criticism of the EU's financial and military aid strategy to Ukraine.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said earlier that he is against military aid to Ukraine, sanctions against Russia as well as Ukraine's bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
To force Budapest to drop its veto for the additional funding to Ukraine, some EU countries have been exerting extensive pressure on Orban for weeks.
According to euronews, some EU countries have discussed a makeshift solution supported by the remaining 26 member states to bypass Hungary if Orban refuses to make concessions.
However, such an approach is technically cumbersome and time-consuming. In addition, some officials have even proposed activating the Article 7, the "nuclear option" under the EU treaties, on Hungary, which would potentially strip Hungary of its voting rights.
Fico voiced his support for Orban in mid-January, accusing Brussels of trying to "punish" Budapest over its stance on funds for Ukraine.
"As long as I am the head of the Slovak government, I will never agree that a country should be punished for fighting for its sovereignty. I will never agree with such an attack on Hungary," Fico said during a joint press conference with Orban following bilateral talks in Budapest.
What's more, under a confidential plan, Brussels threatened to sabotage Hungary's economy if Budapest blocked fresh aid to Ukraine at the EU's special summit, the Financial Times reported, describing the plan as marking a significant escalation in the battle between the EU and Hungary.
Brussels has outlined a strategy to explicitly target Hungary's economic weaknesses, imperil its currency and drive a collapse in investor confidence in a bid to hurt "jobs and growth" if Budapest refuses to lift its veto against the aid to Kiev, the report said. The EU has denied the report.
In an interview with Le Point magazine on Tuesday, Orban said he was certain that the Financial Times' report saying Brussels would sabotage Hungary's economy if Budapest continued to block fresh aid to Ukraine at the special summit was credible. ■